comment

Two inmates at the Westchester County Jail are facing new charges after hospitalizing a corrections officer last month who still has been unable to return to work.

Westchester County District Attorney Anthony Scarpino, Jr. announced the indictment and arraignment of Mount Vernon resident Ishmael Ben Reuben and Yonkers resident Carlos Yarborough, who allegedly beat an officer while he was on duty on April 27.

According to the indictment, at approximately 9:40 p.m. on the day of the incident, as inmates were being directed to their cells for the evening, Ben Reuben and Yarborough lingered in the jail’s hallway between the Day Room and their cell block before becoming verbally threatening toward the officer.

The situation escalated, according to officials, and the two inmates “violently attacked the officer, punching him repeatedly around the head and chest. The officer fell to the ground, where the inmates kicked him and stomped on his head, fracturing his nose and causing other injuries.”

The 42-year-old officer, who was hired in September last year, has been unable to return to work since the alleged attack.

Scarpino noted that Ben Reuben was incarcerated pending sentencing after pleading guilty to felony charges of second-degree assault and attempted robbery. Yarborough was pending sentencing for first-degree robbery and assault, both felonies.

“I would like to thank District Attorney Scarpino and his staff, as well as the Westchester County Department of Public Safety, for their coordinated efforts which ensured these two individuals were charged both swiftly and appropriately. The safety of our facility is always our primary concern, and these indictments reinforce that assaults on staff carry serious consequences.”